National links: Cars are filling the void left by New York’s unreliable transit

How can New York City address its most serious transportation challenge in decades? Freeway widening by any other name (even a so-called “green” name) is still freeway widening. Gentrification looks different in Rust Best cities, which are more equitable but also more economically distressed.

Unsustainable traffic: New York is facing a transportation crisis. Subways are becoming more unreliable and people are using personal vehicles, including ride hailing, much more. In a new Streetfilm, local leaders discuss traffic and how to address the overarching issues. (Streetfilms)

The Great Freeway Coverup: Officials in Portland, Oregon are proposing a freeway lid for a mile-long stretch through the eastern part of the city. The plan will also allow the widening of the freeway from four to six lanes, leading some observers to question whether covering freeways is just a way to sneak highway expansion into urban spaces. (City Observatory)

What does gentrification mean? In Rust Belt cities, there should be a different discussion happening about gentrification than the one happening in wealthy East Coast areas. The definition gets muddled as those who hope to protect communities against displacement take lessons from more overheated housing markets. Solutions that include cutting off investment might be creating more problems than they solve. (TheStile1972)

Bad traffic equals greater resilience: A new study from Northeastern University shows that cities with bad traffic might actually be more resilient to disruptive events such as natural disasters. On the flip side, cities with little traffic were more greatly affected by such disruptions, due to a lack of “backup” roads. (News at Northwestern)

Recognizing women in architecture: Women have made amazing contributions to architecture's history, but since that history has been written and told mostly by white men, their accomplishments have often been erased. Now a new foundation will focus on celebrating their achievements. (Fast Company Design)

Quote of the Week

“[Transit is] a pain in the ass. That’s why everyone doesn’t like it. And there’s like a bunch of random strangers, one of who might be a serial killer, OK, great. And so that’s why people like individualized transport, that goes where you want, when you want.”

Jeff Wood is the Principal of The Overhead Wire, a consulting firm focused on sharing information about cities around the world. He hosts a weekly podcast called Talking Headways at Streetsblog USA and operates the daily news site The Overhead Wire.